Marek's Vaccine

I ordered chicks and didn't realize they would have the marek's vaccine. Does anyone know how long it stays in their system? i know its risky not to have them vaccinated, but I really did not want that in their eggs.
Thanks for the help.

A vaccine is a dose of the Marek's virus that is either dead or has been weakened. It helps the chicks build up their immunity, so that when they are exposed to the healthy virus in your yard, they will not die.

In other words, whether they are vaccinated or not does not matter for your exposure to Marek's, since most chickens are exposed to it.

Thanks to everyone for their responses. We have the chicks! They are adorable. Two more questions that I have:
How soon do i start giving them grit?
I made my own feed from a great recipe. They are picking at it, but I'm not sure if they are swallowing. Does it need to be ground? The recipe said I didn't need to, but i"m just not sure.
Thanks again!

if your feeding any size or kind of grains
YOU NEED GRIT NOW
the chickens gizzard needs grit to grind the feed
Why did you not want to feed chick starter
commercial crumbles?
if the chicks can only eat the small grains your not feeding a complete mixture

Get them started on a good commercial starte crubles
and then feed the greain feed when they are about 4-5 months old
at least give them somthing they willl get a complete feed from
it shoud be ground
please reply what it is and how it is ground up

I didn't use commercial for the same reason that I didn't feed my kids canned formula or jarred baby food.
Thank you for your advice, but there are a lot of people who make their own starter with great success and health.
Anyone's advice who is experienced in this area would be greatly appreciated.

I would seriously consider giving them medicated chick starter right away. The medication in the starter helps them fend off coccidosis by weakening the parasite, thus letting their little systems grow strong enough to fight it off. Coccidosis is in the soil everywhere, and they will probably get it. If they do, and they have not been slowly built up with the chick starter, they will most likely die unless you use a strong medication.

I was worried about this too, but you take them off the chick starter way before you eat the eggs.

If you are going to keep them in a coop off the ground, however, it is not really a concern. You can also protect them from getting worms by keeping them in a coop, but they get bored.

As far as making your own food, be sure to grind it very well and mix in some grit so they won't starve. Glenda is right- they can't process food that is in chunks, and it could also get stuck in their crops and kill them. It all depends on how high a mortality rate you can live with. Some people prefer to go all natural, but the cost is losing more chickens. You must also supplement with vitamins.